I'll be honest, I'd never even heard of virtual races more than a year ago. When I did start hearing about them, I really couldn't wrap my head around why people would do them or how they work.
I figured it was gimmicky - more of a way to pretend that a group was running together. Honestly, it lacked the sense of competition and accomplishment I enjoy in a "real" race. Then I found Jost Running. That's when I realized virtual racing can be real racing and not just another run.
Jost Running was created by a mother-daughter team who share a love of running and races, but not the expense and travel. It can get expensive and definitely time consuming to participate in races regularly. So Courtney Klein and her mother Cynthia Murray Elder came up with this reasonably priced, charity supporting, medal toting race organization. And they do take their race medals seriously - here's just a few previous medals you can check out:
They regularly choose different charitable organizations to support with proceeds from these races. In their inaugural month (August of this year), they chose to support the ALS Association. (ALS is also known as Lou Gherig's disease.) They designed their medals accordingly with baseball diamonds and hot dogs. And if you don't get why, I have no idea who you are or where you're from.
In regard to the relationship between Jost Running and its charitable contributions, Cynthia is quoted as saying:
Running and Charities have gone hand in hand since forever, but local races can be limiting in what they can do and how far they can reach. We think that combining a virtual race with fundraising is a great way to increase the donation. Without a specific racing location the quantity of runners is infinite, making the possibilities endless.
In regard to the relationship between Jost Running and its charitable contributions, Cynthia is quoted as saying:
Running and Charities have gone hand in hand since forever, but local races can be limiting in what they can do and how far they can reach. We think that combining a virtual race with fundraising is a great way to increase the donation. Without a specific racing location the quantity of runners is infinite, making the possibilities endless.